Saturn V
by ImaginIsa
Summary: Artemis was just setting up the prank in Wally's room when the box she had thought was a CD player began blinking. She looked at it for a good five seconds before her brain actually realized what it was. She knew it was exactly five seconds because the countdown read 0:55. "ROBIN!" - When secret identities are compromised, everyone is in danger. (Sequal of "When Birds Can't Fly")


Author's Note: First of all, thank you to everyone who read, reviewed and followed my first Young Justice fic. I had so much fun writing it that I decided to do a second story! Please review and say which of the Young Justice team members should be the main character of the next story. (If you wouldn't mind suggesting villain as well, that'd be great! DC has a lot of them and I'm fairly new to the fandom.) This story takes place about halfway though Season One of Young Justice, and a little more than a month after my last fic in this univers, _When Birds Can't Fly_.

Second, I do not own DC or any of their characters, settings, etc.

UPDATE: New story posted featuring Roy Harper! It's called "The Joy of Singing Off-Tune" and is more light-hearted than either of the other stories.

 **Saturn V**

 _The Saturn V consisted of three stages—the S-IC first stage, S-II second stage and the S-IVB third stage—and the instrument unit. All three stages used_ _liquid oxygen_ _(LOX) as an_ _oxidizer_ _. The first stage used_ _RP-1_ _for fuel, while the second and third stages used_ _liquid hydrogen_ _(LH2). The upper stages also used small solid-fueled_ _ullage motors_ _that helped to separate the stages during the launch, and to ensure that the liquid propellants were in a proper position to be drawn into the pumps..._

* * *

The teen bobbed his head to the music, baseball bat swung over his shoulder and the sweet taste of bubble-gum in his mouth. A sudden breeze lifted the cap from his head and he ducked to scoop it from the ground before it rolled into the street. When he looked back up, he almost swallowed his gum.

"Hey, can I borrow the bat and the Walkman?" The apparition in yellow and red asked, flashing the kid a grin. "I'll bring them back."

Wordlessly, the teenager nodded.

"Thanks, dude!" Kid Flash said. And then he was gone. As was the baseball bat and the Walkman with the soundproof headphones. The teen blinked a few times, and then leaned back against the wall to chew his gum and wait for the Kid Flash to return his things.

Holy shit, he was helping Kid Flash! Why he was practically a hero himself!

* * *

The Pied Piper leaned back his head and laughed as Flash struggled to his feet, clutching his head as if that would help dispel the migraine brought on by the sonic shock of the innocent looking recorder-thing in Pied Piper's hand.

"You're out of your league, Flash," Pied Piper taunted. "No matter where you run – my music will always find you!"

"Hey, tough guy!" Kid Flash swung the borrowed bat as soon as he arrived at the scene. The Pied Piper hit the wall and slid down it in a comical way.

"Why you-!" He put the recorder in his mouth and blew but Kid Flash kept coming and swung the bat once more. The sonic recorded went flying only to be caught by a still half-stunned Flash.

"Good thinking," he told Kid Flash as the teen pulled off the borrowed headphones.

"Thanks," Kid Flash flashed his customary grin. He twirled the bat and pointed it at Pied Piper. "Game over."

Piper sat up and wiped the trickle of blood away from his mouth. "You have no idea," he said. "You may have won the round – but the grand finale is for me." He pressed a button on what looked like a Fitbit. He began to laugh and grinned maniacally up at the two Speedsters. "Say hello to dear Iris for me. Oh, and Mr. and Mrs. West, to-oof!" This time the blow from the bat had him on the floor unconscious.

Kid Flash looked at his mentor with wide eyes behind his goggles and the Flash felt his blood run cold. Quick as light, the Pied Piper was handcuffed to a light pole in nothing but his boxers and the two speedsters were racing through the countryside to get back to their city.

The baseball kid was lucky that their route took them right past him, although he didn't actually see how he ended up with his bat and Walkman again.

* * *

The doorbell rang and Mrs. West looked up from the jumbo-sized pot in which she was boiling water for spaghetti and beseeched, "Rudolph? Can you get that?"

Mr. West put aside his newspaper and stood heavily. "Think Wally forgot his keys again?"

"He'd come in through his bedroom window," Mrs. West said dismissively.

"Well if it's those traveling preachers again I'm goin-" Mr. West cut himself short as he opened the door and found himself almost eye level with a tall, gangly human teenager with blonde hair. By her side was a much shorter boy with braces on both of his wrists and - for some odd reason - wearing dark sunglasses despite the fact that the day was partially overcast. They both wore backpacks and were otherwise unremarkable.

It was the boy that spoke. "Hi, Mr. West?"

When Mr. West nodded, the boy flashed a smile and continued, "We're some of Wally's friends from school. We were wondering if you'd let us come in so we could set up a prank."

"A prank?" Mr. West asked blankly. _When was the last time Wally had friends over?_

"Yeah," the girl smirked. "We want to attach wheels and motors to some of his stuff and move it around when he's sleeping. I'm sure he'll take it all down once he finds it."

"Rudolph? Who is it?" Mrs. West asked, coming into the hall as she wiped her hands on an apron. "Oh," she blinked, surprised. "Who are you?"

"Friends of Wally's from school," the boy answered readily. "May we come in?"

"They want to set up a prank," Mr. West said, still racking his brains for Wally mentioning friends, well, ever.

"Well," Mrs. West smiled. "I don't see why not. Iris and I used to play pranks on each other all the time. Come in."

"Thanks."

"Thank you, Mrs. West."

"Wally's room is the first door on the right, at the top of the stairs," she said. "I'm warning you, it's a mess in there."

"I'm not surprised," muttered the girl.

The boy smirked at her and nodded graciously to Wally's parents. "Thanks, it won't take us too long."

The two teens disappeared up the stairs and Mr. West exchanged baffled looks with his wife. "Does Wally _have_ friends?" he asked her.

She shook her head, suddenly looking very troubled. "I don't know…not beside his" – she lowered her voice – "his Team."

"You don't think…?" Mr. West shrugged it off. "Never mind. No way _those_ two kids are anything special."

* * *

"You think they bought it?" Robin asked her as he set his backpack on the only clear space on the floor.

Artemis shrugged. "Maybe. But it's not like they're going to turn us in or anything. They're Wally's parents."

"It's still dangerous," Robin protested. But his nimble fingers were already assembling the motors.

"Ugh-huh," Artemis grinned slyly at him. "And _whose_ idea was it to prank him while he was on a mission?"

"Yours," Robin answered readily.

Artemis blinked and then countered. "The prank was your idea."

"The actual prank, yeah," Robin replied. "But the doing of the deed was yours."

Artemis huffed, and put out her hand. "Just hand over the wheels, wise-guy."

Robin gave her his infuriating "Robin-laugh" and tossed her the assembled parts. Downstairs, the door-bell rang once more and Mrs. West greeted someone warmly. Robin winced a bit as he tossed the final part and Artemis gave him a sympathetic look. "Your wrists, okay?"

"My wrists are fine," he grumbled. "It's the ribs that still hurt."

Artemis only nodded. She knew he didn't want pity. The Joker had beat him pretty badly last month, and he had been going pretty stir-crazy in the time it took him to heal properly. Batman still wasn't letting Robin go on full-patrol – which is why the Boy Wonder was spending his Saturday helping Artemis prank Wally rather than doing whatever Batman-and-Robin related thing he normally did on a Saturday.

Artemis kicked aside an overflowing laundry hamper and got on her knees to place the small wheels under the dresser. All she had to do was wedge them down there and then – according to Boy Genius – the wheels would expand just enough so that the heavy piece of furniture would clear the floor. Robin claimed it was funnier because the invention was actually Wally's. Artemis just liked the idea of all the furniture moving while Wally was sleeping.

She was placing the first wheel when the box she had thought was a CD player began blinking. She looked at it for a good five seconds before her brain actually realized what it was.

She knew it was exactly five seconds because the countdown read "0:55."

"ROBIN!" She jumped to her feet as he spun around, hands raised instinctively to protect his face.

"Wha-"

"BOMB!" Artemis was already running down the stairs, taking them three at a time. _Where the hell did the adults go?!_

She heard Robin curse and he leapt down to the first story just as Artemis burst into the kitchen. She took in the third woman, the heaping plates of spaghetti and meatballs, the shocked and somewhat angry look on Mr. West's face, and _the damn second bomb sitting proudly on top of a cabinet._

Artemis didn't stop to explain.

"MOVE!" she yelled, grabbing hold of both women's wrists and pulling them towards the back door. "MOVE NOW!"

Mr. West was shouting something about "let go of my wife you hooligan" but Robin had already snuck up behind him and actually kicked him out of the door, swinging from the light fixtures on the ceiling. Artemis – running backward to pull the protesting women along – wondered when he'd donned his Robin mask.

"There's a bomb!" Robin yelled in explanation. "Get up! Keep running!"

The authority in his voice was completed by his mask and the three adults obeyed. Running pell-mill down the street where they all managed to take shelter behind someone's garden shed before the West House exploded.

Mrs. West screamed and Mr. West cursed and the other woman merely pressed her hands to her ears and cowered. Smoking debris fell from the sky and everyone ducked.

When Artemis looked up again, the first thing she saw was that Robin was silently extending her a mask, his face grim. _And now he has his utility belt,_ Artemis noticed. True, it was over his shoulder. But it was there. She donned the offered mask silently and stood when he did.

Side by side, they looked down at the shocked adults as they peeked around the now-smoking shed to look at what had once been a nice, middle-class American home.

* * *

Iris Allen lived her life with one part of herself constantly braced for disaster. She knew her husband had drop-off spots and bug-out houses. She knew that the Justice League had the same. But she had also lived her life believing that they were safe. As her sister and her husband gasped up at who could only be two of the young Justice League protégés. Iris wondered why she was so surprised that their identities had been discovered.

"Mr. and Mrs. West," said the boy. "And…Mrs. Allen?"

Iris nodded.

"You are still in danger," said the boy. "I know of a Justice League safe-house here in Central city. We should go there now."

"But…our house!" Mr. West protested. "We need to be here when the police arrive! When the firemen get here! Some things might still be salvageable-"

"Whoever did this may arrive in a stolen uniform and finish what they started," the girl snapped. Her hands were drumming nervously against her thigh, as if they were normally occupied and she didn't quite know what to do with them when they were not. "The Justice League can deal with the legal stuff later – we need to go."

Iris stood, trying to remain calm. She was the wife of a super-hero. She needed to be strong. "Lead the way," she told the youths.

The boy nodded, and pulled something from the belt he had flung over his shoulder. With a pull and a twist – or so it seemed to Iris – it was suddenly a miniature crossbow.

"Here," he handed it to the girl, along with a small set of dart-sized arrows.

"Pocket-sized," the girl remarked, stringing it and looking down its length. "Nice."

With the small weapon in hand, the girl looked much more at ease and Iris thought of the green-clad heroine who had lately been running around with Green Arrow in Star City.

The boy looked up and down the street cautiously and then back at his partner. "I'm going to run ahead and scout it out, when I give the signal. Follow me." And then he was gone.

Something in the burning remains of the West Family home exploded, setting more of the lawn on fire. Mrs. West whimpered, and Iris put a comforting hand on her shoulder.

* * *

They went to the Allen house first. The place was on fire, smoke rising from the remains. They saw it before they even got to the street.

Flash's face was so white Kid Flash was afraid he would pass out then and there. His lips soundlessly formed the name "Iris" before he turned abrudlty, leaving marks in the ground from the high speeds. "Your house, hurry!" He barked to his nephew as Kid Flash fell behind. Fear spurred him on more than anything else.

 _They're okay, they have to be okay. They_ have _to be okay._

They were still miles away when they saw the smoke rising from his own neighborhood. Wally may have screamed. He would have run straight into the fire to search for them, screaming their names as his damn costume burned, when the Speedster's emergency com-link started beeping.

Flash skidded to a stop to answer it, grabbing onto his nephew as he attempted to keep going. "Yes?" he snapped.

"Don't go home." Batman was straight to the point. "Robin and Artemis got to your families in time. Go straight to Central City safe-house Beta." And then the line went dead.

Kid Flash was so relieved that he collapsed on the grass by the side of the road.

Flash sat down heavily next to him. "Thank God," Barry Allen murmured. "Thank God." He looked at Kid and gave him a small smile, "And thank your friends."

Kid Flash nodded adamantly and said, "I'm going to have to make both of them something really sweet to make up for this."

Flash laughed – albeit a bit unsteadily – and said, "I don't think that will quite cover it, Kid." As one, the two speedsters jumped up and raced to Safe-House Beta.

The authentication routines on the normal-looking apartment were too slow. But it was secure, Wally West had to give it that.

As soon as the damn door opened, he rushed straight into his mother's arms. "Mom, dad?" he asked. "Are you okay?"

His mom only hugged him close while his dad nodded. "Yes, thanks to your friends."

It was then that Wally noticed Artemis and Robin. Both of them were in civvies except for black masks – and Robin had his utility belt, of course. Artemis was holding a miniature cross-bow and keeping watch at one of the windows while Robin did something with a computer that Wally had a feeling came with the house. _Damn,_ Wally somehow found himself thinking. _Rob and I made that for her birthday._

"How did you guys know?" Wally asked.

"We didn't," Robin said grimly, looking up from the computer. "We were just lucky."

A shiver went down Wally's back.

"Whatever the reason," said Barry, "Thank you."

Artemis nodded, giving Iris a reassuring smile.

Robin looked at The Flash with a frown. "How were your identities compromised?"

Barry frowned. "I don't know."

Robin's frown deepened as he looked back at the computer. "Batman has put all of the Justice League on high alert. Everyone has been warned to stick close to home. We can't just have everyone abandon their homes, though. It might just tip off whoever did this."

"We know who did it," said Wally angrily. "It was Pied Piper."

"Piper?" Robin made a face. "He doesn't have the brains for something like this."

"Never the less," said Barry. "He said Iris' name. And he knew Wally's last name."

Artemis made a strangled noise even though she kept her gaze out the window.

Wally and Robin exchanged looks and Wally said, "You should go hom-"

"No," Robin cut him off. Wally glared at him but Robin looked at Artemis as he explained. "We were at the explosion – it might be more dangerous for you to leave."

"I know that!" Artemis snapped. "I'm here, aren't I?"

Robin's gaze softened and he added softly, "I'm sorry."

Artemis only nodded. She suddenly stiffened and swung her crossbow to face the door as Batman entered in all his black-mask glory. She barely managed to twitch up her hand so that the shot embedded itself harmlessly in the roof.

Batman didn't seem upset that he'd been almost shot.

"Good instincts," he told Artemis. Then he looked at Flash. "It seems that the only two identities that were compromised were yours." Barry nodded, his face tight. Wally swallowed hard. He could feel Robin watching him from behind. "I would normally leave your problems to you but since this might represent a leak in League security…" Batman let his voice trail off.

Barry sighed and said, "If you could help us…your skills would be helpful."

Batman nodded and looked at Artemis. "Go home. Tell Robin when you arrive safely. Stay there. I'll be in touch."

Artemis nodded and was almost out the door before she hesitated and looked back at Robin, "The crossbow-"

"For you," Robin said. "Early birthday gift."

Wally managed a smile, and added, "His design. I built it."

Artemis looked startled and gave both boys a small smile before disappearing into the gathering dusk.

Batman turned back to The Flash. "Robin and I will investigate. I suggest you all stay here for a few days."

"Lie low?" Barry didn't sound happy about it, but said, "All right," all the same.

Batman pulled a bag from the folds of his cloak and tossed it to his protégée. Robin caught it easily. "Change," Batman told him. "I'll be outside." And then he was.

Robin nodded to the West-Allen family and ducked into one of the bedrooms. Wally squeezed his mom's hand and followed him.

"Hey, Rob?"

Robin – already halfway out of his civvies – replied, "Yeah?"

"Thanks," Wally said. "Like, really, _really,_ thank you."

Robin looked very serious as he replied, "You're welcome. If someone had been around to rescue my parents…" Robin shook his head and simply said. "It's what friends do."

Wally nodded, his throat tight. _Who would I be, if my parents died?_ Wally wondered as Robin became Boy Wonder and also disappeared into the night. _Would I be like Robin and become a hero in the night? Or would something much worse happen…?_ Wally hoped he'd never find out.

* * *

The metaphorical explosion came much sooner than Wally had anticipated. And in three stages, just like a rocket.

"You were seen!" Batman thundered, his face inches from Wally's.

Batman had barged into their second dinner in the safe-house. Instant-Macaroni-and-Cheese, nothing fancy. The door had beeped that a League member was about to enter, but that had done nothing to prepare Wally for the sight of the caped-crusader yelling at him.

Wally was so shocked that he did nothing. The same way he had done nothing that morning, during stage one...

"He will not go on patrol with you!" Mr. West had yelled at Barry Allen suddenly over cornflakes. "Not tonight. Not ever again!"

What had followed was perhaps the worst fight Wally had ever had with his parents. It hadn't helped that Uncle Barry and Aunt Iris were in the room with them – both helping and severely hindering his cause in turns.

"I can't just stop being a hero, dad!" Wally had yelled. "I have powers! I have a…a…a _responsibility_ to use them to help people!"

"Powers? _Powers!?_ You have powers because he blew up our garage!" His dad had yelled back. His mother had dissolved into tears, saying that she didn't care about powers or responsibility, she just wanted her family to be safe.

Uncle Barry's guilty look had made the whole thing worse.

 _So stage two is Batman,_ Wally thought absurdly as he found his voice and squeaked out, "What?"

"Someone saw you," Batman said slowly, dangerously, "And caught it on _Snapchat!"_

It was so ridiculous that Wally almost laughed. The door beeped again and there was Robin, still with braces on both wrists, looking uncomfortable and upset.

"On Snapchat?" Barry demanded.

"Don't those go away?" Mr. West demanded.

"The servers have them," Batman snapped, not taking his eyes off Wally. "The person who took it didn't know what they saw and the person who received it was too slow to keep it but the servers had it."

"There was a now-former employee who would steal…ugh…incriminating snapchats and sell them for profit online," Robin contributed. Something in his voice made Wally's heart start pounding even faster, almost at battle speed.

"The Pied Piper bought it, ran one facial recognition, and got you, your _family,_ and _The Flash_ All. In. One. Go." Batman was so close that Wally thought he might start trembling.

"S…sorry…" Wally tried.

"YOU IDIOT!" Batman yelled.

"BATMAN!" And suddenly The Flash was there. "He's not yours to yell at!"

Batman stepped back, looking so angry that Wally was afraid he might hit Uncle Barry.

"Your _side-kick's_ carelessness compromised the security of not only the two of you, but all The Team and the League as well," Batman snapped. He rounded back on Wally. "You spent most of last month traveling to visit Robin – what if someone had found camera footage of Gotham City and seen where you were going?"

Wally swallowed hard. Robin would not meet his eyes.

"What if they saw footage of you with Miss Martian and Superboy in Happy Harbor and found them? Or worse, found The Cave?"

Wally wanted to disappear.

"What if Artemis and Robin hadn't been trying to do a childish prank-" Robin looked miserable "-and the Piper had succeeded in-!"

"ENOUGH!" Barry shouted.

Wally's hands were shaking. His father looked shocked, his mother terrified. Aunt Iris' mouth was open in surprise. Robin was staring at his shoes.

Batman met the Flash's glare steadily, looked back at Wally, and said shortly, "Wally West, you are off The Team."

He turned to leave and Wally finally found his voice. "You can't do that!"

Batman didn't even seem to hear. He was already gone.

Robin only gave Wally a fleeting, pitying look before following in the shadow of his mentor. It was completely silent in that small house for a few minutes.

"Wally…" his mother began.

Wally rounded on his parents. "Happy now?!" he yelled.

He dashed into the small room that was his and bolted the door, dragging a chair in front of it for good measure. And then he buried his head into a pillow and screamed. _Stage Three,_ he thought dully, fighting tears that were equal parts anger and fear. _I could have killed everyone..._

* * *

Robin finished telling The Team what had happened and swallowed hard, looking at his still bruised wrists. He'd removed the braces out of sheer frustration as soon as he'd gotten to The Cave and he could still trace his veins beneath the skin. _Wally was there when I was in trouble,_ he thought. _So why can't I help him with this?_ The answer was Batman and the terrible reality that their identities had to remain a secret.

"But…" Conner frowned, trying to understand. "It was an accident, right? And you and Batman erased all of the footage from the Snappy-chat servers."

Robin could almost hear Wally's voice teasing Superboy for the "Snappy-chat" and he swallowed hard.

"That's not the point," sighed Kaldur. "Kid should have known better than to use his powers while at school."

"He thought no one was around," Artemis said hotly.

"That was the problem," Kaldur said, meeting her angry eyes steadily. "I see why Batman gave the punishment he did. I just wish…" He didn't need to finish.

"Fine, okay, fine," Artemis huffed. Her fingers were playing with the miniature crossbow she now kept at her side at all times. "But why forbid _us_ from visiting _him_?"

"It's a temporary precaution," Robin said. But his words sounded hollow, even to himself.

M'gann had been silent from the moment Robin had started speaking. She finally looked at them and said quietly, "He'll think we hate him."

No one had a response.

* * *

It had been a month.

It felt like it had been a year.

They'd gotten a new house. The story was a gas leak at the West home. Uncle Barry and Aunt Iris had gotten an apartment. A fireplace left on and a spare battle of motorcycle oil in the garage was the lie told about the Allen house.

Wally went to school. He came home. He barely spoke to anyone.

Uncle Barry had half-heartedly tried to get Wally to go on patrol with him; but Wally had refused, unable to meet his eyes.

 _What's the point if I'm not on The Team? If I can never join the Justice League? And my parents don't want me to go…And my friends hate me._

None of them had tried to contact him since the day Batman had lost his shit in front of his entire family.

School. Eat. Homework. Eat. Sleep. Repeat.

That was it. He didn't dare use his powers because he couldn't use his powers dressed as Wally West and he couldn't be Kid Flash because… _because Kid Flash has a team, and friends, and is trusted. Kid Flash is a hero. A hero who almost got everyone killed._

At the end of the month, his mother knocked on his door.

"Come in," Wally said. He was on the bed, still fully dressed.

His mother came in and looked around. "Wow," she said, trying to sound cheerful. "It's clean."

"I don't have enough stuff to make a mess," Wally replied dully. He hadn't wanted to go shopping to replace the stuff he had lost. His mother had bought some generic T-shirts and jeans for him. A few had come in a "Super-hero" pack. It seemed like a cruel joke that he now had a Superman, Batman, Green Lantern, and Flash T-shirt. He'd considered burning the Batman shirt, just out of spite.

"Right." His mother stood there, uncertain, and then seemed to make up her mind. "Wally, what are you doing?"

Wally looked at her in surprise. "Napping?"

"No," she shook her head, suddenly looking fierce. "You're moping. You've barely been out of this house since we got it. You need to go outside and do _something._ "

"Like what?" Wally demanded. "I'm not a normal kid, mom!"

"I _know_ that!" she said, throwing up her hands in exasperation. "Then go help your Uncle Barry! Go and find your friends and take down an evil plant or a maniac clown or a space robot. But do _something!_ "

"But…" Wally blinked, feeling confused. "I thought you and dad wanted…"

"You leave your father to me," she said. "He worried about you, too. You've even stopped eating."

Wally blinked. That was going a bit far. "I still eat!" he protested.

"About half the amount you usually eat," she replied. Her look softened. "Wally…" his mom sat on the edge of his bed. Wally sat up, still confused, but something that felt more like "Kid Flash" stirring to life inside of him. "I always knew you'd be extraordinary," she told him. "Every mother dreams of having a special son but having a super-hero-in-training son wasn't exactly what I had in mind. And sometimes I – and your father – don't really know what to do to help you. But I know that you were meant for more than moping in your room. Prove to Batman that you deserve a second chance."

"But…" Wally hesitated and finished quietly. "What if my friends all hate me?"

His mother snorted. "I'm pretty sure what happened is that Lord Bat yelled at his poor protégée until he and the others were too afraid to come to Central City. Poor boy looked miserable when we saw him last."

Remembering how Robin hadn't been able to meet his eyes, the fire in Wally's chest finally took flame. _Hello, Wally!_ _Of course Batman forbade them from coming here. He probably made everyone promise to never associate with each other except when they're on mission or in the cave._ Wally grinned up at his mom and – to her surprise – gave her a huge hug.

"Thanks, mom," he whispered.

His mother squeezed him tight and Wally had to tap her to get released. He grinned at her and quick as a flash, was in his Kid Flash costume. "Do you happen to know were Uncle Barry is?" he asked.

"Giant plants are attacking Star City!" His father shouted from downstairs.

"Awesome!" said Wally. And then he was gone.

* * *

As Poison Ivy's unconscious form was carried off in chains, Batman, Green Arrow, and Flash turned to face the young heroes. Superboy was moody and scowling as ever. Robin's and Aqualad's faces gave nothing away. Artemis was trying to look defiant. M'gann looked ecstatic.

And Kid Flash stood there with his arms crossed, and a determined look on his face.

"I want to come back," he told the three heroes before any of them could speak. "I'll be careful. More careful then I've ever been with anything ever. But this is where I'm supposed to be."

The Flash was suddenly by his side, a hand on his shoulder, looking at Batman expectantly. When Batman looked at Green Arrow, the latter stepped back with his hands up, a small smile tugging at his lips.

Batman glanced over all of the teenagers, and then his gaze settled on Kid Flash. "You're on probation," he said. And then walked away.

Kid Flash looked at Flash uncertainly. "Does that mean I-oof!" He grunted as he was practically tackled to the ground from the strength of M'gann's hug.

"Oh-my-goodness-we-missed-you-so-much!" She said.

Kaldur came over to shake his hand, smiling, "Welcome back, Kid."

"Maybe Artemis will stop yelling at everyone now," Superboy muttered. But he gave Kid Flash a warm smile as he went off to get Sphere.

Artemis looked embarrassed and hit Kid Flash in the arm.

"Owe!" he complained.

"Too slow," she said. "You better start training again." But Kid Flash could have sworn that she was grinning widely as she left to join Green Arrow.

Suddenly, the only one left was Robin. Flash excused himself and dashed off to make sure that Ivy wouldn't be able to get free when she awoke.

Robin smiled hesitantly at his friend as Robin said, "Hey, KF."

"Hey, Rob." Wally hesitated, unsure of what to say.

Robin took a deep breath and suddenly blurted out; "I'm really sorry. You were there when I was feeling like shit and I just sat around and did nothing even though I knew you must feel like shit…but Batman _ordered_ us and…"

"Dude, relax," said Kid Flash, even though inside he felt like singing. His friends hadn't abandoned him after all. "Batman is _scary_."

Robin laughed and then gave Kid Flash a very unexpected hug before running off to jump in the Bat Mobile before his mentor left without him.

Kid Flash smiled. He was back.


End file.
